Techniques for dual-mode operations in new radio

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods of wireless communications operating in a wideband new radio (NR) system include identifying a system bandwidth value of a cell, and identifying a user equipment (UE) bandwidth capability. Additionally, the aspects include determining a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts each having a UE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability, and communicating with the cell using at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts. Further, the described apparatus and methods may enable dual-mode operations in a wideband component carrier (CC)) in the NR system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/476,472, entitled “DUAL-MODE OPERATION IN A WIDEBAND CC IN NR”and filed on Mar. 24, 2017, which is expressly incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunications, and more particularly, to techniques and schemes fordual-mode operations in a wireless communication network (e.g., in awideband component carrier (CC)) in 5th Generation (5G) new radio (NR)).

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-accesssystems capable of supporting communication with multiple users bysharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, andpower). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-divisionmultiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA)systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonalfrequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrierfrequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time-divisionsynchronous code-division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standardis Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). Although newermultiple access systems, such as an LTE or LTE-A system, deliver fasterdata throughput than older technologies, such increased downlink rateshave triggered a greater demand for higher-bandwidth content, such ashigh-resolution graphics and video, for use on or with mobile devices.In response, a fifth generation (5G) wireless communications technology(which can be referred to as new radio (NR)) is envisaged to expand andsupport diverse usage scenarios and applications with respect to currentmobile network generations. In an aspect, 5G communications technologycan include: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) addressing human-centricuse cases for access to multimedia content, services and data;ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) with strictrequirements, especially in terms of latency and reliability; andmassive machine type communications (mMTC) for a very large number ofconnected devices and typically transmitting a relatively low volume ofnon-delay-sensitive information. As the demand for mobile broadbandaccess continues to increase, there exists a need for furtherimprovements in NR communications technology and beyond. Preferably,these improvements should be applicable to other multi-accesstechnologies and the telecommunication standards that employ thesetechnologies.

Accordingly, due to the requirements for increased data rates, highercapacity, and lower latency, new approaches may be desirable to improvethe system reliability and efficiency. For example, for NRcommunications technology and beyond, there may be difficulties insupporting different user equipments (UEs) having different UEcapabilities. For instance, since the system bandwidth in NR may be upto 1 GHz, there may be challenges in supporting UEs having differentbandwidth capabilities. Thus, improvements in wireless communicationoperations may be desired in order to satisfy consumer demand andimprove user experience in wireless communications, e.g., NRcommunications.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method of wirelesscommunications by a user equipment (UE) including identifying a systembandwidth value of a cell, identifying a UE bandwidth capability,determining a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts each having aUE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth value and the UEbandwidth capability, and communicating with the cell using at least oneof the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.

In another aspect, an apparatus (e.g., a UE) for wireless communicationsis provided that includes a transmitter, a memory configured to storeinstructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled withthe transmitter and the memory. For example, the one or more processorsmay be configured to execute the instructions to identify a systembandwidth value of a cell, identify a UE bandwidth capability, determinea UE-specific set of bandwidth parts each having a UE-specific bandwidthbased on the system bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability, andcommunicate with the cell using at least one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts.

In yet another aspect, an apparatus (e.g., a UE) for wirelesscommunications is provided that includes means for identifying a systembandwidth value of a cell, means for identifying a UE bandwidthcapability, means for determining a UE-specific set of bandwidth partseach having a UE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth valueand the UE bandwidth capability, and means for communicating with thecell using at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.

Moreover, in an aspect, a computer-readable medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium) is provided storingcode executable by at least one processor for wireless communicationsand comprising code for identifying a system bandwidth value of a cell,code for identifying a UE bandwidth capability, code for determining aUE-specific set of bandwidth parts each having a UE-specific bandwidthbased on the system bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability, andcode for communicating with the cell using at least one of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts.

In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a method of wirelesscommunications by a base station including identifying a systembandwidth value of a cell in which a UE is operating, identifying a UEbandwidth capability for the UE, determining a UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts for the UE, each having a UE-specific bandwidth based onthe system bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability, andcommunicating with the UE using at least one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts.

In a further aspect, the present disclosure also includes an apparatusor a base station having components or configured to execute or meansfor executing the above-described method, and computer-readable mediumstoring one or more codes executable by a processor to perform theabove-described method. For example, a base station for wirelesscommunications is provided that includes a transmitter, a memoryconfigured to store instructions, and one or more processorscommunicatively coupled with the transmitter and the memory. In anexample, at least one processor may be configured to execute theinstructions to identify a system bandwidth value of a cell in which aUE is operating, identify a UE bandwidth capability for the UE,determine a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts for the UE, each having aUE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth value and the UEbandwidth capability, and communicate with the UE using at least one ofthe UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit thedisclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication networkincluding at least one UE and a base station having respectivecommunication components for enabling operations of UEs with differentbandwidth capabilities on a wideband component carrier (CC), accordingto an aspect of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a series of schematic diagrams of examples of different usecases of UE and base station bandwidth capabilities with respect to awideband channel, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a series of schematic diagrams of examples of differentUE-specific sets of bandwidth parts to respectively support operationsof a wideband UE, a first narrowband UE, and a second narrowband UE,each having different bandwidth capabilities, with base station havingwideband system bandwidth;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communications by a UEusing at least one UE-specific set of bandwidth parts, according to oneor more aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that may continue from the method of FIG. 4 andthat includes a method of detecting presence of signaling;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart that may continue from the method of FIG. 4 andthat includes a method of performing bandwidth part(s) aggregation;

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 8 are flowcharts that may continue from the method ofFIG. 4 and that include alternative methods of determining a basis(wideband or per bandwidth part) or applicability of random sequences;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart that may continue from or be part of the method ofFIG. 4 and that includes a method of transmitting or receiving a signalin a frequency subband;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart that may continue from or be part of the methodof FIG. 4 and that includes a method using a reference set of bandwidthparts;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an example of a method of wirelesscommunications by a base station using at least one UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts, according to one or more aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of example components of the UE of FIG.1; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of example components of the base stationof FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofone or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) maybe practiced without these specific details. Additionally, the term“component” as used herein may be one of the parts that make up asystem, may be hardware, firmware, and/or software stored on acomputer-readable medium, and may be divided into other components.

The present disclosure generally relates to a wireless communicationnetwork, such as an NR technology network having a wideband componentcarrier (CC), and components on a UE and base station that configure andmanage different types of UEs having different bandwidth capabilities toenable operations on the wideband CC. For example, the bandwidthcapability may include, but is not limited to, radio frequency (RF)bandwidth capability. That is, this disclosure describes how thewideband CC, e.g., the system bandwidth, can be configured to exchangesignaling between the UE and the base station when some UEs may havewideband capabilities while other UEs may have narrowband capabilities.In some examples, the system bandwidth of a CC (e.g., the wideband CC)in an NR technology network (e.g., up to 1 GHz) may be larger than thesystem bandwidth of a CC in an LTE network (e.g., up to 20 MHz).

For instance, in one implementation, the UE and base station areconfigured to take into account a value (e.g., a frequency range, suchas 100 MHz) of the system bandwidth, a minimum UE bandwidth capability(or reference capability) that is supported by the base station (e.g., achannel bandwidth of 20 MHz), and a bandwidth capability of the UE(e.g., a maximum channel bandwidth that UE can support), and therebydetermine a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts (e.g., one or moreportions of the system bandwidth) that may be used as channels or CCsfor exchanging communications. As such, the wideband CC may beconfigured for dual-mode operations to support both the UEs havingwideband capabilities and the UEs having narrowband capabilities bysetting up differently configured UE-specific sets of bandwidth parts.

In other alternatives, this disclosure further describes other apparatusand methods at the UE and base station to manage or control othersignaling or configurations based on one or more UE-specific sets ofbandwidth parts. Examples of such other apparatus and methods mayinclude managing one or more of synchronization channels and signaling,rate matching, bandwidth part aggregation, random sequence generationand usage, and configuration and interoperability of the one or moreUE-specific sets of bandwidth parts with channel-quality channels andsignaling.

Thus, the apparatus and methods of this disclosure may enable differentconfigurations for UEs having different bandwidth capabilities toexchange signaling with the base station, thereby enabling dual-modeusage of the wideband CC (e.g., system bandwidth) in an NRtechnology-based wireless communication network.

Additional features of the present aspects are described in more detailbelow with respect to FIGS. 1-13.

It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be used forvarious wireless communication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA,SC-FDMA, and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” are oftenused interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technologysuch as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc.CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases 0and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×, 1×, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856)is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×EV-DO, High Rate Packet Data(HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants ofCDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system may implement aradio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20,Flash-OFDM™, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA,E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniques describedherein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentionedabove as well as other systems and radio technologies, includingcellular (e.g., LTE) communications over a shared radio frequencyspectrum band. The description below, however, describes an LTE/LTE-Asystem for purposes of example, and LTE terminology is used in much ofthe description below, although the techniques are applicable beyondLTE/LTE-A applications (e.g., to NR networks or other next generationcommunication systems).

The following description provides examples, and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit,substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. Forinstance, the methods described may be performed in an order differentfrom that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, orcombined. Also, features described with respect to some examples may becombined in other examples.

Referring to FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure, an example of a wireless communication network 100, such asan NR technology network having a wideband component carrier (CC),includes at least one UE 110 with a modem 140 having a communicationcomponent 150 that enables UE 110 to exchange signaling with a modem 170and a communication component 180 of at least one base station 105(e.g., a gNB). Communication component 150 of UE 110 and communicationcomponent 180 of base station 105 may respectively include a bandwidthpart determiner 152, 182 that enables UE 110 and base station 105 todetermine how the wideband CC, e.g., the system bandwidth, can beconfigured to exchange signaling.

For instance, in one implementation, each bandwidth part determiner 152,182 is configured to take into account a value (e.g., frequency range,such as 100 MHz) of the system bandwidth, a minimum UE bandwidthcapability (or reference capability) that is supported by base station105 (e.g., a channel bandwidth of 20 MHz), and a bandwidth capability ofUE 110 (e.g., a maximum channel bandwidth that UE 110 can support), andthereby determine a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302 (e.g., one ormore portions of the system bandwidth, 302-a, 302-b, 302-c, and/or302-d) that will be used as channels or component carriers forexchanging communications. Different UEs 110 with different bandwidthcapabilities may thus have differently configured UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts 302.

Further, each bandwidth part controller 154, 184 is configured to workwith respective modem 140, 170 and/or other components of UE 110 or basestation 105 to ensure signaling is based on UE-specific set of bandwidthparts 302 determined for each UE 110.

In further alternatives, communication component 150 of UE 110 andcommunication component 180 of base station 105 may include one or moreadditional components to manage or control other signaling orconfiguration based on UE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302. Examplesof such other components may include components managing one or more ofsynchronization channels and signaling, rate matching, bandwidth partaggregation, random sequence generation and usage, and configuration andinteroperability of UE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302 with channelquality channels and signaling.

Thus, the apparatus and methods of this disclosure enable differentconfigurations for UEs 110 having different bandwidth capabilities,thereby enabling dual-mode usage of the wideband CC (e.g., systembandwidth) in an NR technology-based wireless communication network 100.

The wireless communication network 100 may include one or more basestations 105, one or more UEs 110, and a core network 115. The corenetwork 115 may provide user authentication, access authorization,tracking, internet protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access,routing, or mobility functions. The base stations 105 may interface withthe core network 115 through backhaul links 120 (e.g., S1, etc.). Thebase stations 105 may perform radio configuration and scheduling forcommunication with the UEs 110, or may operate under the control of abase station controller (not shown). In various examples, the basestations 105 may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g.,through core network 115), with one another over backhaul links 125(e.g., X1, etc.), which may be wired or wireless communication links.

The base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 110 viaone or more base station antennas. Each of the base stations 105 mayprovide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area130. In some examples, base stations 105 may be referred to as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, an accessnode, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), gNB, Home NodeB, aHome eNodeB, a relay, or some other suitable terminology. The geographiccoverage area 130 for a base station 105 may be divided into sectors orcells making up only a portion of the coverage area (not shown). Thewireless communication network 100 may include base stations 105 ofdifferent types (e.g., macro base stations or small cell base stations,described below). Additionally, the plurality of base stations 105 mayoperate according to different ones of a plurality of communicationtechnologies (e.g., 5G (New Radio or “NR”), fourth generation (4G)/LTE,3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.), and thus there may be overlappinggeographic coverage areas 130 for different communication technologies.

In some examples, the wireless communication network 100 may be orinclude one or any combination of communication technologies, includinga NR or 5G technology, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) or MuLTEfire technology, a Wi-Fi technology, a Bluetoothtechnology, or any other long or short range wireless communicationtechnology. In LTE/LTE-A/MuLTEfire networks, the term evolved node B(eNB) may be generally used to describe the base stations 105, while theterm UE may be generally used to describe the UEs 110. The wirelesscommunication network 100 may be a heterogeneous technology network inwhich different types of eNBs provide coverage for various geographicalregions. For example, each eNB or base station 105 may providecommunication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other types ofcell. The term “cell” is a 3GPP term that can be used to describe a basestation, a carrier or component carrier associated with a base station,or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station,depending on context.

A macro cell may generally cover a relatively large geographic area(e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted accessby UEs 110 with service subscriptions with the network provider.

A small cell may include a relative lower transmit-powered base station,as compared with a macro cell, that may operate in the same or differentfrequency bands (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) as macro cells. Smallcells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according tovarious examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 110 with servicesubscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover asmall geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted accessand/or unrestricted access by UEs 110 having an association with thefemto cell (e.g., in the restricted access case, UEs 110 in a closedsubscriber group (CSG) of the base station 105, which may include UEs110 for users in the home, and the like). An eNB for a macro cell may bereferred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred toas a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB maysupport one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells(e.g., component carriers).

The communication networks that may accommodate some of the variousdisclosed examples may be packet-based networks that operate accordingto a layered protocol stack and data in the user plane may be based oninternet protocol (IP). A user plane protocol stack (e.g., packet dataconvergence protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), media accesscontrol (MAC), etc.), may perform packet segmentation and reassembly tocommunicate over logical channels. For example, a MAC layer may performpriority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transportchannels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat/request(HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve linkefficiency. In the control plane, radio resource control (RRC) protocollayer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of anRRC connection between a UE 110 and the base stations 105. The RRCprotocol layer may also be used for core network 115 support of radiobearers for the user plane data. At the physical (PHY) layer, thetransport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

The UEs 110 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communicationnetwork 100, and each UE 110 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 110 mayalso include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobilestation, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, awireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, aremote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, orsome other suitable terminology. A UE 110 may be a cellular phone, asmart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, awireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a smart watch, a wireless local loop(WLL) station, an entertainment device, a vehicular component, acustomer premises equipment (CPE), or any device capable ofcommunicating in wireless communication network 100. Additionally, a UE110 may be Internet of Things (IoT) and/or machine-to-machine (M2M) typeof device, e.g., a low power, low data rate (relative to a wirelessphone, for example) type of device, that may in some aspects communicateinfrequently with wireless communication network 100 or other UEs. A UE110 may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, macro gNBs,small cell gNBs, relay base stations, and the like.

UE 110 may be configured to establish one or more wireless communicationlinks 135 with one or more base stations 105. The wireless communicationlinks 135 shown in wireless communication network 100 may carry uplink(UL) transmissions from a UE 110 to a base station 105, or downlink (DL)transmissions, from a base station 105 to a UE 110. The downlinktransmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while theuplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions. Eachwireless communication link 135 may include one or more carriers, whereeach carrier may be a signal made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g.,waveform signals of different frequencies) modulated according to thevarious radio technologies described above. Each modulated signal may besent on a different sub-carrier and may carry control information (e.g.,reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, userdata, etc. In an aspect, the wireless communication links 135 maytransmit bidirectional communications using frequency division duplex(FDD) (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or time division duplex(TDD) operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources). Framestructures may be defined for FDD (e.g., frame structure type 1) and TDD(e.g., frame structure type 2). Moreover, in some aspects, the wirelesscommunication links 135 may represent one or more broadcast channels.

In some aspects of the wireless communication network 100, base stations105 or UEs 110 may include multiple antennas for employing antennadiversity schemes to improve communication quality and reliabilitybetween base stations 105 and UEs 110. Additionally or alternatively,base stations 105 or UEs 110 may employ multiple input multiple output(MIMO) techniques that may take advantage of multi-path environments totransmit multiple spatial layers carrying the same or different codeddata.

Wireless communication network 100 may support operations on multiplecells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrieraggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. A carrier may also bereferred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc. Theterms “carrier,” “component carrier,” “cell,” and “channel” may be usedinterchangeably herein. A UE 110 may be configured with multipledownlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs for carrier aggregation. Carrieraggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers. Thebase stations 105 and UEs 110 may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., Y=5,10, 15, or 20 MHz) bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrieraggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x=number of component carriers)used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not beadjacent to each other. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric withrespect to DL and UL (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated forDL than for UL). The component carriers may include a primary componentcarrier and one or more secondary component carriers. A primarycomponent carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and asecondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell(SCell).

The wireless communication network 100 may further include base stations105 operating according to Wi-Fi technology, e.g., Wi-Fi access points,in communication with UEs 110 operating according to Wi-Fi technology,e.g., Wi-Fi stations (STAs) via communication links in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum, the STAs and AP may perform a clear channelassessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior tocommunicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

Additionally, one or more of base stations 105 and/or UEs 110 mayoperate according to a NR or 5G technology referred to as millimeterwave (mmW or mm-wave) technology. For example, mmW technology includestransmissions in mmW frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies. Extremelyhigh frequency (EHF) is part of the radio frequency (RF) in theelectromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and awavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in thisband may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend downto a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. Forexample, the super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and30 GHz, and may also be referred to as centimeter wave. Communicationsusing the mmW and/or near mmW radio frequency band has extremely highpath loss and a short range. As such, base stations 105 and/or UEs 110operating according to the mmW technology may utilize beamforming intheir transmissions to compensate for the extremely high path loss andshort range.

Referring to FIG. 2, a channel 200 in an NR wireless communicationsystem 100 (FIG. 1) may be considered to be a wideband channel having amaximum channel bandwidth 202 larger, or substantially larger, than amaximum channel bandwidth in an LTE wireless communication system. Forinstance, in LTE, each channel (also referred to as a component carrier(CC)), can be up to 20 MHz, while in NR, each CC can have a much largerbandwidth, e.g., up to 1 GHz.

In an aspect of NR, it is expected that at least some UEs 110 may not becapable of supporting the maximum channel bandwidth that the basestation 105 can support. For instance, different types of UEs 110 maysupport different maximum channel bandwidths, such as but not limited toa maximum channel bandwidth of 20 MHz, or 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, etc., whilethe base station 105 may support a maximum channel bandwidth of 200 MHz.Further, in another aspect, even if the UE 110 is capable of supportinga large bandwidth, the UE 110 or the base station 105 may implement thewideband using multiple radio frequency (RF) chains and multiple FastFourier Transform (FFT) components. In some implementations, basestation 105 may support a wideband channel in a similar manner.

Thus, due to different types of UEs 110 and/or different types of basestations 105 having different bandwidth capabilities 204, 206 (e.g., RFbandwidth capabilities), respectively, it is possible that UE 110 andbase station 105 may or may not support the same maximum channelbandwidth. For example, different use cases 208, 210, 212, 214(respectively corresponding to Case 1, Case 2, Case 3, and Case 4)illustrate potential channel bandwidth capabilities 204, 206 of basestation 105 and UE 110, respectively. In use case 208 (Case 1), UE 110and base station 105 may have respective channel bandwidth capabilities204, 206 to both support a single, wideband channel 200. In use case 210(Case 2), UE 110 may have channel bandwidth capabilities 206 to supporta single, wideband channel 200, while base station 105 may have channelbandwidth capabilities 204 to support a plurality (e.g., two in thisexample) of smaller channels (which may be referred to as narrowbandchannels) that span wideband channel 200. In use case 212 (Case 3), basestation 105 may have channel bandwidth capabilities 204 to support asingle, wideband channel 200, while UE 110 may have channel bandwidthcapabilities 206 to support a plurality (e.g., two in this example) ofsmaller channels (e.g., narrowband channels) that span wideband channel200. In use case 214 (Case 4), base station 105 and UE 110 may haverespective channel bandwidth capabilities 204, 206 to each support aplurality (e.g., two in this example) of smaller channels (e.g.,narrowband channels) that span wideband channel 200.

In some examples, UE 110 and base station 105 may support operationsover about a 1 GHz contiguous spectrum, including a maximum singlecarrier bandwidth of at least 80 MHz. Further, UE 110 and base station105 may support one or more multi-carrier approaches, e.g., carrieraggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC), and/or operations in anon-contiguous spectrum. In some cases, UE 110 and base station 105 maysupport single-carrier operations, where the maximum bandwidth supportedby some UE capabilities (or categories) may be less than the channelbandwidth of serving single carrier. In some aspects, some UEcapabilities (or categories) may or may not support the channelbandwidth of the serving single carrier.

In some examples, for each NR carrier (e.g., an NR CC), UE 110 and basestation 105 may support operations using a maximum channel bandwidth of400 MHz, 800 MHz, or 1000 MHz (1 GHz). In other words, the UE 110 andbase station 105 may support operations using a maximum channelbandwidth per NR carrier of [400, 800, 1000] MHz. In an aspect, the UE110 and base station 105 may support operations using a maximum channelbandwidth up to 100 MHz per NR carrier. In another aspect, operationsusing a maximum channel bandwidth of at least 100 MHz per NR carrier maybe supported by the UE 110 and base station 105. Further, the UE 110 andbase station 105 may support operating differently in differentfrequency bands. For instance, for sub-6 GHz operations, 100 MHz may beused for the maximum channel bandwidth, while maximum channel bandwidthwider than 100 MHz may be used for above-6 GHz operations. It should benoted that the UE 110 and base station 105 may support operations usinga maximum channel bandwidths, e.g., 40 MHz or 200 MHz, or using scalabledesign(s) for up to a maximum channel bandwidth per NR carrier.

Additionally, UE 110 and base station 105 may support operations using amaximum number of NR carriers for CA and/or DC. For instance, althoughnot limited hereto, such a maximum number of NR carriers may be selectedfrom the set [8, 16, 32]. Also, in some cases, but not limited hereto,the maximum FFT size is not larger than one of the set of [8192, 4096,2048] for the operations discussed herein. Further, in another case, ifthe maximum channel bandwidth is greater than or equal to 400 MHz andsmaller than or equal to 1000 MHz (1 GHz), then the maximum number ofchannels (e.g., maximum number of NR carriers or CCs) in any aggregationmay be either 8 or 16 (but is not limited thereto). In another case, ifthe maximum channel bandwidth is greater than or equal to 100 MHz, thenthe maximum number of CCs in any aggregation could be either 16 or 32(but is not limited thereto). In yet another case, if the maximumchannel bandwidth is greater than 100 MHz and smaller than 400 MHz, thenthe maximum number of CCs may be determined to be one of the above-notedvalues or a new value configured by system operators.

Referring to FIG. 3, a base station 105 (e.g., or a cell of the basestation 105) may serve one or more UEs 110 capable of supportingwideband signals, while also serving one or more other UEs 110 that arenot capable of supporting wideband signals. In some examples, for adual-mode operation, wideband channel 200 may be organized or configuredinto a set of one or more bandwidth parts (BPs) 302 (e.g., 302-a, 302-b,302-c, and/or 302-d), based on channel bandwidth capability 206 of arespective UE 110. For example, each bandwidth part 302 may be aseparate channel or carrier. As such, for a wideband capable UE 304 andtwo narrowband capable UEs 306, 308 (e.g., UEs 306, 308 may bedifferent, and may not be capable of supporting wideband signals),wideband channel 200 may be configured into respective UE-specific setsof bandwidth parts: set 310, set 312, and set 314. In an aspect, eachUE-specific set of bandwidth parts of sets 310, 312, and 314 may haveone or more BPs 302. Further, different bandwidth parts 302 of arespective UE-specific set of bandwidth parts (e.g., set 310, set 312,or set 314) can have a same size (or bandwidth range), such as BP size316 for narrowband UE 306 and/or can have different sizes, or somecombination of same and different sizes (e.g., BP size 318 and BP size320 for narrowband UE 308).

As an example, the base station 105 (e.g., or a cell of the base station105) may have a 100 MHz system bandwidth (e.g., channel bandwidth 200)which may be organized to have one bandwidth part 302-a, or five (5) BPs(e.g., five BPs 302-b, or two BPs 302-c plus three BPs 302-d). Assumingtwo (2) guard bands (GBs) 301 being 10 percent (10%) of the 100 MHzsystem bandwidth (totaling 10 MHz for two GBs, each GB 301 having abandwidth 330 that equals to 5 MHz), there is 90 MHz in the cell thatcan be used for traffic. In an aspect, wideband UE 304 may be able tosupport the full system bandwidth, and thus may operate using a singlecarrier (e.g., a single BP 302-a with a size of 90 MHz). Although in oneexample wideband UE 304 may be described as using the BP 302-a, itshould be understood that in some implementations that use ofessentially the entire system bandwidth may not be considered using theBP 302-a. In some aspects, the use of BPs 302 may be considered to beassociated with narrowband UEs, such as narrowband UE 306 and/ornarrowband UE 308. In a first example, such as for narrowband UE 306,each bandwidth part 302-b is 18 MHz (indicated by 316). In a secondexample, such as for narrowband UE 308, each of the middle three (3)bandwidth parts 302-d has a large size (e.g., 19.8 MHz; indicated by318), while each of the two (2) edge bandwidth parts 302-c has a smallersize (e.g., (90−19.8×3)/2=15.3 MHz; indicated by 320).

In some aspects, the set of BPs 302 for a cell can be derived based onthe system bandwidth and a minimum UE bandwidth capability supported ora reference capability (e.g., 20 MHz). Based on the reference set of BPsand a respective bandwidth capability 206, UE 110 can derive its own setof BPs, referred to as a UE-specific set of BPs (e.g., one or more setsof 310, 312, 314). For example, if UE 110 is capable of 40 MHz in a cellwith 100 MHz system bandwidth, UE 110 may determine or be configured tohave BP1 plus BP2 (BP1+BP2) as a first BP, BP3 plus BP4 (BP3+BP4) as asecond BP, and BP5 as a third or the last BP in the UE-specific set ofBPs. In this example, each BP of BP1, BP2, BP3, BP4, and BP5 (or BPs302-b, 302-c, and 302-d) is no more than 20 MHz. As such, UE 110 may usethe smallest BP size, e.g., a size that equals to or less than thereference capability, and build up a new set of BPs using this smallestsize in combination with the UE bandwidth capability.

According to some implementations, in a dual-mode operation in awideband system bandwidth using the UE-specific set of BPs, UE 110 andbase station 105 may also account for other signaling. In some examples,the presence of synchronization channels or signals in one or morebandwidth parts may be determined by UE 110. For example, thesynchronization channels or signals may include a Physical BroadcastChannel (PBCH), Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), or SecondarySynchronization Signal (SSS). In one implementation, for instance, thepresence of synchronization channels or signals may be indicated by basestation 105 (e.g., a gNB). For example, base station 105 may transmit orbroadcast a synchronization presence indicator. In some cases, thesynchronization presence indicator may be a semi-static indication thatincluded in a broadcast signal, or may be a dynamic indication. In anaspect, based on the indicated presence, UE 110 may perform ratematching for one or more other channels (e.g., a Physical DownlinkShared Channel (PDSCH)).

According to some implementations, in a dual-mode operation in awideband system bandwidth using the UE-specific set of BPs, UE 110 thatis a narrowband UE (e.g., with narrowband bandwidth capabilities) canperform BP (e.g., two or more PBs) aggregation. In some examples, the BPaggregation may be performed in a same way or similarly way compared toCA in an LTE network. In some aspects, among one or more BPs 302 that anarrowband UE 110 is being served, at least one BP 302 may carrysynchronization (e.g., PSS, SSS) information or PBCH, etc. In an LTEnetwork, each CC may have a respective synchronization signal or PBCH.In contrast, in an NR network (e.g., the NR technology-based wirelesscommunication network 100), not every CC has a respectivesynchronization signal or PBCH, and UE 110 may utilize thesynchronization information or PBCH in a first BP for a second BP. In anexample, the second BP may not have synchronization information or PBCH.

According to some implementations, in a dual-mode operation in widebandsystem bandwidth using the UE-specific set of BPs, UE 110 and basestation 105 may account for sequence generation. For example, randomsequences may be used for scrambling, demodulation reference signal(DM-RS) modulation (e.g., used as DM-RS sequence(s)), channelinterleaving, etc. In some examples, sequence generation may beapplicable to DL and/or UL channels or signals. In an example, UE 110and base station 105 may use one sequence generation scheme for all NRchannels or signals. In another example, UE 110 and base station 105 mayuse different sequence generation schemes for different NR channels orsignals.

In some aspects, UE 110 and base station 105 may implement one of atleast two sequence generation schemes. In a first scheme, the sequencegeneration is based on wideband operations (e.g., a dual-mode operationin wideband system bandwidth). In other words, for example, bothwideband and narrowband UEs can have the same sequence generation,making the system easier to have orthogonal multiplexing among thesewideband and narrowband UEs. In an aspect, the narrowband UEs may takethe corresponding portion of the sequence for a respective BP 302. Inanother aspect, the narrowband UEs may be indicated (e.g., by basestation 105) a physical resource block (PRB) index and/or a BP index todetermine the corresponding sequence and/or the corresponding portion ofthe sequence. For example, but not limited hereto, the PRB index or BPindex indication may be included in a system information block (SIB),and may be received from base station 105 (e.g., via a broadcastsignal).

In a second scheme, sequence generation is respectively performed ordone per BP. For example, UE 110 or base station 105 may determine arespective BP 302, and perform sequence generation for the respective BP302. In some implementations, the second scheme can be applicable tonarrowband UEs only. In other implementations, the second scheme canalso be used for wideband UEs. For example, the wideband UE 304 canstitch together the sequences for each BP 302 to form a sequence for thewider band.

Additionally, in some cases, sequence generation can be down-selected tohave one sequence generation scheme for all NR channels or signals, ordifferent sequence generation schemes for different channels or signals.

According to some implementations, in a dual-mode operation in widebandsystem bandwidth using the UE-specific set of BPs, UE 110 and basestation 105 may account for management of one or more BPs 302 andsubbands. In some examples, UE 110 and base station 105 may account formanagement of the one or more BPs 302 versus channel state information(CSI) subbands or sounding reference signal (SRS) subbands. Forinstance, CSI measurement, CSI reporting, or SRS transmission may besubband-based. In some aspects, the boundary of a CSI or SRS subband maybe aligned with the boundary of a corresponding or respective BP 302. Insome cases, if the boundaries may not be aligned, then UE 110 may dropthe CSI (or SRS), or the CSI (or SRS) may be managed for a partialsubband. That is, for example, the CSI and/or SRS may be transmittedwith a subband spanning two BPs. Alternatively, the CSI and/or SRS maybe transmitted partially only in one of the two adjacent BPs.

In some aspects, the management of subband size can be based on widebandor narrowband bandwidth capabilities of UE 110. For instance, in a firstmanagement scheme, same subband size(s) or location(s) can be used forboth wideband and narrowband UEs 110. In a second management scheme,different subband sizes or locations can be used for wideband andnarrowband UEs 110. For example, but not limited hereto, a wideband UE(e.g., wideband UE 304) may have a subband size of eight (8) resourceblocks (RBs), while a first narrowband UE (e.g., with 40 MHz maximumchannel bandwidth capability) may have a subband size of 4 RBs, and asecond narrowband UE (e.g., with 20 MHz maximum channel bandwidthcapability) may have a subband size of 2 RBs. It may be preferable tohave such subband sizes be multiples of 2 in order to allow thedifferent combinations to work well together.

According to some implementations, in dual-mode operation of widebandsystem bandwidth and when using the UE-specific set of BPs, downlink(DL) and uplink (UL) BPs 302 in a cell may be jointly or separatelymanaged. In an example of joint management, both DL and UL have 5 BPs,and there is one-to-one correspondence. In an example of separatemanagement, the DL has 5 BPs and the UL has 3 BPs, where the linkagebetween DL and UL BPs are indicated by base station 105. For example,base station 105 may transmit a DL/UL BP indicator, such as in a SIB.

In some implementations, UE 110 may be configured such that the DL andUL have the same capability. For instance, UE 110 may have DL and ULchannel bandwidth both at 20 MHz.

In other implementations, UE 110 may be configured such at the DL and ULchannel bandwidth capabilities are different. In one example, forinstance, UE 110 may have DL channel bandwidth of 40 MHz and UL channelbandwidth of 20 MHz. Further, in some cases, UE 110 may separatelyderive the set of BPs for DL and UL.

Referring to FIGS. 4 through 10, in one example operation of a NRwireless communication system 100, a method 400 of wirelesscommunications performed by UE 110 according to the above-describedaspects includes one or more of the herein-defined actions.

Referring to FIG. 4, in an operational aspect, UE 110 (FIG. 1) mayperform one or more aspects of a method 400 to perform dual-modeoperations in a wireless communication network (e.g., an NR technologynetwork) having at least a wideband CC. For example, as shown later inFIG. 12, one or more of processors 1212, memory 1216, the modem 140,transceiver 1202, and/or the communication component 150, may beconfigured to perform one or more aspects of the method 400.

In an aspect, at 402, method 400 includes identifying a system bandwidthvalue of a cell. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may executecommunication component 150 and/or bandwidth part determiner 152 toidentify a system bandwidth value of a cell, as described above, and inFIG. 2 or FIG. 3. For example, a cell or base station 105 may beconfigured to have at least one value (e.g., a frequency range, such as100 MHz) of the system bandwidth, which may be used by DL/UL channels orCCs for exchanging communications with one or more UEs 110. In someimplementations, UE 110 may identify or determine the system bandwidthvalue from exchanging communications with base station 105, for example,from a broadcast signal transmitted form base station 105.

In an aspect, at 404, method 400 includes identifying a UE bandwidthcapability. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communicationcomponent 150 and/or bandwidth part determiner 152 to identify a UEbandwidth capability. For example, a bandwidth capability of the UE maybe a maximum channel bandwidth that UE can support, and can beconfigured to be capable of wideband (e.g., wideband UE 304) ornarrowband (e.g., narrowband UE 306 or 308), as described above and inFIG. 2 or FIG. 3, or based on a wireless communication standard.

In an aspect, at 406, method 400 includes determining a UE-specific setof bandwidth parts each having a UE-specific bandwidth based on thesystem bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability. For instance, inan aspect, UE 110 may execute communication component 150 and/orbandwidth part determiner 152 to determine a UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts (e.g., a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302 in FIG.3), where each bandwidth part has a UE-specific bandwidth based on thesystem bandwidth value (identified at 402) and the UE bandwidthcapability (identified at 404), as described above and in FIG. 2 or FIG.3, or based on a wireless communication standard.

In another aspect, at 408, method 400 may optionally include monitoringthe UE-specific set of bandwidth parts for communication. For example,in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communication component 150, bandwidthpart determiner 152, and/or transceiver 1202 to monitor one or moresignals from the cell or base station 105 using at least one of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts, as described above and in FIG. 2 orFIG. 3.

In an aspect, at 410, method 400 includes communicating with the cellusing at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts. Forinstance, in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communication component 150,bandwidth part controller 154, and/or transceiver 1202 to communicatewith the cell or base station 105 using at least one of the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts, as described above and In FIG. 3. In a dual-modeoperation, for example, wideband channel 200 may be organized orconfigured into a set of one or more BPs 302 (e.g., 302-a, 302-b, 302-c,and/or 302-d), based on channel bandwidth capability 206 of a respectiveUE 110. In some cases, UE 110 may be configured to transmit signals to,or receive signals from, base station 105 using the one or more BPs 302,based on the system bandwidth value (identified at 402) and the UEbandwidth capability (identified at 404).

In an example, each of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts has a samebandwidth, at least two of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts havedifferent bandwidths, or some combination thereof, or the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts comprise a single bandwidth part having afrequency range substantially corresponding to the system bandwidthvalue.

Referring to FIG. 5, method 500 may continue from one or more of theoperations of method 400 in order to account for other signaling in thesystem bandwidth and/or in one or more of the bandwidth parts 302.

For example, at 502, method 500 may include determining presence of atleast one of a PBCH or a synchronization signal. For instance, in anaspect, UE 110 may execute communication component 150, sync presencedeterminer 156, and/or transceiver 1202 to determine presence of atleast one of a PBCH or a synchronization signal (e.g., PSS, SSS), asdescribed above and in FIG. 3. In some cases, a PBCH or asynchronization signal (e.g., PSS, SSS) may be included or presented inone or more of the bandwidth parts 302, and may be transmitted from basestation 105 to UE 110 in a DL signal. For example, base station 105 maytransmit or broadcast a synchronization presence indicator in the DLsignal.

In an aspect, at 504, method 500 may include performing rate matchingfor one or more other channels based on the presence of at least one ofthe PBCH or the synchronization signal. For instance, in an aspect, UE110 may execute communication component 150 and/or rate matchingcomponent 158 and/or modem 140 to perform rate matching for one or moreother channels based on the presence of at least one of the physicalbroadcast channel or the synchronization signal, as described above. Insome cases, the synchronization presence indicator discussed above maybe a semi-static indication that included in a broadcast signal, or maybe a dynamic indication. In an aspect, based on the indicated presence,UE 110 may perform rate matching for one or more other channels (e.g., aPDSCH).

In some cases, determining the presence of at least one of the physicalbroadcast channel and the synchronization signal may include detectingin at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts. In othercases, determining the presence of at least one of the PBCH or thesynchronization signal may further comprise detecting the presence in afirst one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts, and may furtherinclude performing at least one of a timing tracking or a frequencytracking for the one or more other channels of a second one of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts based on the detecting of thepresence in the first one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.

In some cases, performing rate matching for the one or more otherchannels of a second one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts isbased on the determining of the presence in a first one of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts is performed when the presence of atleast one of the physical broadcast channel or the synchronizationsignal is not transmitted by the second one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts.

In some cases, determining the presence of at least one of the physicalbroadcast channel and the synchronization signal may include receiving apresence indicator transmitted by base station 105. For example, thismay include receiving a broadcast channel or signal carrying thepresence indicator.

Referring to FIG. 6, method 600 may continue from the operations ofmethod 400 in order to enable UE 110 to improve efficiency or throughputwith respect to signaling. For example, at 602, method 600 includesperforming bandwidth part aggregation of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may executecommunication component 150, bandwidth part aggregator 160, modem 140,and/or transceiver 1202 to perform bandwidth part aggregation of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302, as described above and in FIG.3. In some examples, the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302 that canbe BP aggregated may include one of intra-band contiguous bandwidths,intra-band non-contiguous bandwidths, or inter-band, non-contiguousbandwidths.

Referring to FIG. 7A, in an aspect, method 700 may continue from one ormore of the operations of method 400 in order to enable UE 110 to managewideband UL and/or DL signaling. For instance, signaling by UE 110and/or base station 105 may utilize sequence generation, such as toapply a random sequence that can be used for scrambling or descrambling,for a DM-RS modulation sequence, or for channel interleaving, etc. Insome examples, sequence generation can be applicable to DL and/or ULchannels/signals.

For example, at 702, method 700 includes determining that a randomsequence associated with a received or transmitted signal corresponds toa wideband sequence. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may executecommunication component 150, sequence manager 162, modem 140, and/ortransceiver 1202 to determine that a random sequence associated with areceived or transmitted signal corresponds to a wideband sequence, asdescribed herein. In some cases, the received or transmitted signal maybe a reference signal, such as a demodulation reference signal.

In an aspect, at 704, method 700 may include utilizing a portion of thewideband sequence for at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidthparts. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communicationcomponent 150, sequence manager 162, signaling controller 166, modem140, and/or transceiver 1202 to utilize a portion of the widebandsequence for at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts 302,as described herein.

Referring to FIG. 7B, in another alternative, method 750 may continuefrom the operations of method 400 in order to enable UE 110 to managesignal generation and usage on a per BP basis, which may apply to bothnarrowband UEs and wideband UEs. For example, at 752, method 750includes determining that a random sequence associated with a receivedor transmitted signal corresponds to a bandwidth part-specific sequence.For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communication component150, sequence manager 162, signaling controller 166, modem 140, and/ortransceiver 1202 to determine that a random sequence associated with areceived or transmitted signal corresponds to a bandwidth part-specificsequence, as described herein.

In an alternative that may be used by a wideband UE (e.g., wideband UE304), at 754, method 750 may include combining a respective bandwidthpart-specific sequence from each of the UE-specific set of bandwidthparts to define a wideband sequence. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110may execute communication component 150, sequence manager 162, signalingcontroller 166, modem 140, and/or transceiver 1202 to combine arespective bandwidth part-specific sequence from each of the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts to define a wideband sequence, as describedherein. In other words, wideband UE 304 receiving or transmittingsequences that are generated on a per BP basis may stitch together therespective sequences to form a wideband sequence.

Referring to FIG. 8, in another alternative, method 800 may continuefrom the one or more operations of method 400 in order to enable UE 110to manage sequence generation and usage in a same manner or in differentmanners. For example, at 802, method 800 includes determining that awideband-based random sequence or a narrowband-based sequence associatedwith a received or transmitted signal is utilized across all channels orsignals, or that a wideband-based random sequence or a narrowband-basedsequence associated with a received or transmitted signal is differentacross different channels or signals. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110may execute communication component 150, sequence manager 162, signalingcontroller 166, modem 140, and/or transceiver 1202 to determine that awideband-based random sequence or a narrowband-based sequence associatedwith a received or transmitted signal is utilized across all channels orsignals, or is different across different channels or signals.

Referring to FIG. 9, in some aspects relating to the configuration ofBPs and the configuration of subbands for other signaling, method 900may continue from the operations of method 400, or be part of anoperation of the method 400 in order to enable UE 110 to utilize BPs andother signaling in subbands.

For example, being part of the operation of block 408, at 902, method900 may optionally include transmitting or receiving a channelquality-related signaling in a frequency subband defined within afrequency range boundary of one of the UE-specific set of bandwidthparts. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communicationcomponent 150, channel quality manager 164, signaling controller 166,modem 140, and/or transceiver 1202 to transmit or receive a channelquality-related signaling in a frequency subband defined within afrequency range boundary of one of the UE-specific set of bandwidthparts.

In another example, being part of the operation of block 408, at 904,method 900 may optionally include transmitting or receiving a signal ina frequency subband, and at least one of a size or location of thefrequency subband being UE-specific configured. For instance, in anaspect, UE 110 may execute communication component 150, signalingcontroller 166, modem 140, and/or transceiver 1202 to transmit orreceive a signal in a frequency subband. In some cases, at least one ofthe size or location of the frequency subband is UE-specific configured.In some examples, the size or location of the frequency subband isconstant regardless of the UE bandwidth capability. In other cases, thesize or location of the frequency subband is different depending on theUE bandwidth capability.

Referring to FIG. 10, in some aspects relating to the configuration ofBPs using a reference set of BPs, method 1000 may continue from theoperations of method 400, or be part of an operation of the method 400in order to enable UE 110 to utilize BPs and other signaling. Forexample, continuing from the operation of block 404, at 1002, method1000 may include determining a reference set of bandwidth parts having areference bandwidth associated with the system bandwidth value. Forinstance, in an aspect, UE 110 may execute communication component 150,and/or bandwidth part determiner 152 to determine a reference set ofbandwidth parts having a reference bandwidth associated with the systembandwidth value identified at block 402. In an aspect, the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts 302 may be determined based on the reference setof bandwidth parts.

In another aspect relating to the configuration of BPs, method 400 mayinclude determining that the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts are thesame for DL and UL, or are different. That is, when the UE-specific setof bandwidth parts are determined to be the same for DL and UL, they maybe paired (e.g., 3 DL BPs and 3 UL BPs). In contrast, when theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts are determined to be different for DLand UL, there will be a first set of BPs for downlink operation, and asecond set of BPs, different in number (and/or bandwidth range) from thefirst set, for uplink operation. For instance, in an aspect, UE 110 mayexecute communication component 150, bandwidth part determiner 152,and/or bandwidth part controller 154 to determine that the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts are the same for DL and UL, or are different.

Referring to FIG. 11, in an example, a method 1100 of wirelesscommunications by base station 105 (FIG. 1) may include complimentaryoperations with respect to the operations of UE 110 as described above.In an operational aspect, base station 105 may perform one or moreaspects of the method 1100 to perform dual-mode operations in a wirelesscommunication network (e.g., an NR technology network) having at least awideband CC. For example, as shown later in FIG. 13, one or more ofprocessors 1312, memory 1316, the modem 170, transceiver 1302, and/orthe communication component 180, may be configured to perform one ormore aspects of the method 1100.

In an aspect, at 1102, for example, method 1100 may include identifyinga system bandwidth value of a cell in which a UE is operating. Forinstance, in an aspect, base station 105 may execute communicationcomponent 180 and/or bandwidth part determiner 182 to identify a systembandwidth value of a cell in which UE 110 is operating, described above,and in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. For example, a cell or base station 105 may beconfigured to have at least one value (e.g., a frequency range, such as100 MHz) of the system bandwidth, which may be used by DL/UL channels orCCs for exchanging communications with one or more UEs 110.

In an aspect, at 1104, for example, method 1100 may include identifyinga UE bandwidth capability for the UE. For instance, in an aspect, basestation 105 may execute communication component 180 and/or bandwidthpart determiner 182 to identify a UE bandwidth capability for the UE, asdescribed above. For example, a bandwidth capability of the UE 110 maybe a maximum channel bandwidth that UE 110 can support, and may beobtained from UE 110 which is capable of wideband (e.g., wideband UE304) or narrowband (e.g., narrowband UE 306 or 308), as described aboveand in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, or based on a wireless communication standard.

In an aspect, at 1106, for example, method 1100 may include determininga UE-specific set of bandwidth parts for the UE, each having aUE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth value and the UEbandwidth capability. For instance, in an aspect, base station 105 mayexecute communication component 180, and/or bandwidth part determiner182 to determine a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts for the UE, eachhaving a UE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth value andthe UE bandwidth capability, as described above and in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3,or based on a wireless communication standard.

In an aspect, at 1108, for example, method 1100 may includecommunicating with the UE using at least one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts. For instance, in an aspect, base station 105 mayexecute communication component 180, bandwidth part controller 184,modem 170, and/or transceiver 1302 to communicate (e.g., transmitsignaling) with the UE 110 in at least one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts, as described above and in FIG. 3. In a dual-modeoperation, for example, base station 105 may organize or configurewideband channel 200 into a set of one or more BPs 302 (e.g., 302-a,302-b, 302-c, and/or 302-d), based on channel bandwidth capability 206of a respective UE 110. In some cases, base station 105 may beconfigured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, UE 110 usingone or more BPs 302, based on the system bandwidth value (identified at1102) and the UE bandwidth capability (identified at 1104).

In an aspect, at 1110, for example, method 1100 may optionally includetransmitting an indication to the UE indicating presence of at least oneof a PBCH or a synchronization signal in at least one of the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts. For instance, in an aspect, base station 105 mayexecute communication component 180, bandwidth part controller 184, synccontrol manager 186, modem 170, and/or transceiver 1302 to transmittingan indication to the UE 110 indicating presence of at least one of aPBCH or a synchronization signal (e.g., PSS, SSS) in at least one of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts, as described herein. In someexamples, base station 105 may transmit or broadcast a message includingthe indication (e.g., a synchronization presence indicator). In somecases, the indication may be a semi-static indication that included in abroadcast signal, or may be a dynamic indication. In an implementation,the sync control manager 186 may be configured to manage one or more ofPBCHs, synchronization channels, and related signaling.

In another aspect, for example, method 1100 may optionally includedetermining a reference set of bandwidth parts having a referencebandwidth associated with the system bandwidth value. For instance, inan aspect, base station 105 may execute communication component 180,and/or bandwidth part determiner 182 to determine a reference set ofbandwidth parts having a reference bandwidth associated with the systembandwidth value, as described above and in FIG. 10.

In other alternatives, method 1100 may include additional actions, andbase station 105 may include additional components, to manage or controlother signaling or configurations based on UE-specific set of bandwidthparts. Examples of such other apparatus and methods may include asequence manager 190 to manage random sequence generation and usage, achannel quality manager 192 to manage configuration and interoperabilityof UE-specific set of bandwidth parts with channel quality channels andsignaling, or a signaling controller 188 to work with one or more othercomponents to manage any base station signaling.

Referring to FIG. 12, one example of an implementation of UE 110 mayinclude a variety of components, some of which have already beendescribed above, but including components such as one or more processors1212 and memory 1216 and transceiver 1202 in communication via one ormore buses 1244, which may operate in conjunction with modem 140 andcommunication component 150 to enable one or more of the functionsdescribed herein. Further, the one or more processors 1212, modem 140,memory 1216, transceiver 1202, RF front end 1288 and one or moreantennas 1265, may be configured to support voice and/or data calls(simultaneously or non-simultaneously) in one or more radio accesstechnologies.

In an aspect, the one or more processors 1212 can include one or moremodems 140 that uses one or more modem processors. The various functionsrelated to communication component 150 may be included in modem 140and/or processors 1212 and, in an aspect, can be executed by a singleprocessor, while in other aspects, different ones of the functions maybe executed by a combination of two or more different processors. Forexample, in an aspect, the one or more processors 1212 may include anyone or any combination of a modem processor, or a baseband processor, ora digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiverprocessor, or a transceiver processor associated with transceiver 1202.In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors1212 and/or modem 140 associated with communication component 150 may beperformed by transceiver 1202.

Also, memory 1216 may be configured to store data used herein and/orlocal versions of applications 1275 or communication component 150and/or one or more of its subcomponents being executed by at least oneprocessor 1212. Memory 1216 can include any type of computer-readablemedium usable by a computer or at least one processor 1212, such asrandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magneticdiscs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and anycombination thereof. In an aspect, for example, memory 1216 may be anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or morecomputer-executable codes defining communication component 150 and/orone or more of its subcomponents, and/or data associated therewith, whenUE 110 is operating at least one processor 1212 to execute communicationcomponent 150 and/or one or more of its subcomponents.

Transceiver 1202 may include at least one receiver 1206 and at least onetransmitter 1208. Receiver 1206 may include hardware, firmware, and/orsoftware code executable by a processor for receiving data, the codecomprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g.,computer-readable medium). Receiver 1206 may be, for example, an RFreceiver. In an aspect, receiver 1206 may receive signals transmitted byat least one base station 105. Additionally, receiver 1206 may processsuch received signals, and also may obtain measurements of the signals,such as, but not limited to, Ec/Io, SNR, RSRP, RSSI, etc. Transmitter1208 may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable bya processor for transmitting data, the code comprising instructions andbeing stored in a memory (e.g., computer-readable medium). A suitableexample of transmitter 1208 may including, but is not limited to, an RFtransmitter.

Moreover, in an aspect, UE 110 may include RF front end 1288, which mayoperate in communication with one or more antennas 1265 and transceiver1202 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, for example,wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 105 orwireless transmissions transmitted by UE 110. RF front end 1288 may beconnected to one or more antennas 1265 and can include one or morelow-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 1290, one or more switches 1292, one or morepower amplifiers (PAs) 1298, and one or more filters 1296 fortransmitting and receiving RF signals.

In an aspect, LNA 1290 can amplify a received signal at a desired outputlevel. In an aspect, each LNA 1290 may have a specified minimum andmaximum gain values. In an aspect, RF front end 1288 may use one or moreswitches 1292 to select a particular LNA 1290 and its specified gainvalue based on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Further, for example, one or more PA(s) 1298 may be used by RF front end1288 to amplify a signal for an RF output at a desired output powerlevel. In an aspect, each PA 1298 may have specified minimum and maximumgain values. In an aspect, RF front end 1288 may use one or moreswitches 1292 to select a particular PA 1298 and its specified gainvalue based on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Also, for example, one or more filters 1296 can be used by RF front end1288 to filter a received signal to obtain an input RF signal.Similarly, in an aspect, for example, a respective filter 1296 can beused to filter an output from a respective PA 1298 to produce an outputsignal for transmission. In an aspect, each filter 1296 can be connectedto a specific LNA 1290 and/or PA 1298. In an aspect, RF front end 1288can use one or more switches 1292 to select a transmit or receive pathusing a specified filter 1296, LNA 1290, and/or PA 1298, based on aconfiguration as specified by transceiver 1202 and/or processor 1212.

As such, transceiver 1202 may be configured to transmit and receivewireless signals through one or more antennas 1265 via RF front end1288. In an aspect, transceiver may be tuned to operate at specifiedfrequencies such that UE 110 can communicate with, for example, one ormore base stations 105 or one or more cells associated with one or morebase stations 125. In an aspect, for example, modem 140 can configuretransceiver 1202 to operate at a specified frequency and power levelbased on the UE configuration of the UE 110 and the communicationprotocol used by modem 140.

In an aspect, modem 140 can be a multiband-multimode modem, which canprocess digital data and communicate with transceiver 1202 such that thedigital data is sent and received using transceiver 1202. In an aspect,modem 140 can be multiband and be configured to support multiplefrequency bands for a specific communications protocol. In an aspect,modem 140 can be multimode and be configured to support multipleoperating networks and communications protocols. In an aspect, modem 140can control one or more components of UE 110 (e.g., RF front end 1288,transceiver 1202) to enable transmission and/or reception of signalsfrom the network based on a specified modem configuration. In an aspect,the modem configuration can be based on the mode of the modem and thefrequency band in use. In another aspect, the modem configuration can bebased on UE configuration information associated with UE 110 as providedby the network during cell selection and/or cell reselection.

Referring to FIG. 13, one example of an implementation of base station105 may include a variety of components, some of which have already beendescribed above, but including components such as one or more processors1312 and memory 1316 and transceiver 1302 in communication via one ormore buses 1344, which may operate in conjunction with modem 170 andcommunication component 180 to enable one or more of the functionsdescribed herein.

The transceiver 1302, receiver 1306, transmitter 1308, one or moreprocessors 1312, memory 1316, applications 1375, buses 1344, RF frontend 1388, LNAs 1390, switches 1392, filters 1396, PAs 1398, and one ormore antennas 1365 may be the same as or similar to the correspondingcomponents of UE 110, as described above, but configured or otherwiseprogrammed for base station operations as opposed to UE operations.

The above detailed description set forth above in connection with theappended drawings describes examples and does not represent the onlyexamples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “example,” when used in this description, means“serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred”or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of thedescribed techniques. These techniques, however, may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand apparatuses are shown in block diagram form in order to avoidobscuring the concepts of the described examples.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, computer-executable code or instructionsstored on a computer-readable medium, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connectionwith the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with aspecially-programmed device, such as but not limited to a processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmablelogic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardwarecomponent, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A specially-programmed processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aspecially-programmed processor may also be implemented as a combinationof computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor,multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on anon-transitory computer-readable medium. Other examples andimplementations are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure andappended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functionsdescribed above can be implemented using software executed by aspecially programmed processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctivelist such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C”means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code means in the form of instructions or data structures andthat can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer,or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connectionis properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable aperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the common principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Furthermore, although elements of the describedaspects and/or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular,the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular isexplicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/orembodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspectand/or embodiment, unless stated otherwise. Thus, the disclosure is notto be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communications by a userequipment (UE), comprising: identifying a system bandwidth value of acell; identifying a UE bandwidth capability; determining a UE-specificset of bandwidth parts each having a UE-specific bandwidth based on thesystem bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability; andcommunicating with the cell using at least one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts has a same bandwidth.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein at least two of the UE-specific set of bandwidthparts have different bandwidths.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts comprise a single bandwidth parthaving a frequency range substantially corresponding to the systembandwidth value.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining a reference set of bandwidth parts having a referencebandwidth associated with the system bandwidth value, whereindetermining the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts comprises determiningbased on the reference set of bandwidth parts.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: monitoring the UE-specific set of bandwidth partsfor communication.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining presence of at least one of a physical broadcast channel(PBCH) or a synchronization signal; and performing rate matching for oneor more other channels based on the presence of at least one of the PBCHor the synchronization signal.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereindetermining the presence of at least one of the PBCH or thesynchronization signal further comprises detecting in at least one ofthe UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein determining the presence of at least one of the PBCH and thesynchronization signal further comprises detecting the presence in afirst one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts; further comprisingperforming at least one of a timing tracking or a frequency tracking forthe one or more other channels of a second one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts based on the detecting of the presence in the first oneof the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 10. The method of claim 7,wherein determining the presence of at least one of the PBCH and thesynchronization signal further comprises receiving a presence indicatortransmitted by a base station.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising performing bandwidth part aggregation of the UE-specific setof bandwidth parts.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts comprise one of intra-band contiguous bandwidths,intra-band non-contiguous bandwidths, or inter-band non-contiguousbandwidths.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising determiningthat a random sequence associated with a received or transmitted signalcorresponds to a wideband sequence.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising utilizing a portion of the wideband sequence for at least oneof the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 15. The method of claim 13,wherein the received or transmitted signal is a demodulation referencesignal (DM-RS).
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining that a random sequence associated with a received ortransmitted signal corresponds to a bandwidth part-specific sequence.17. The method of claim 16, further comprising combining a respectivebandwidth part-specific sequence from each of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts to define a wideband sequence.
 18. The method of claim1, further comprising determining that a wideband-based random sequenceor a narrowband-based sequence associated with a received or transmittedsignal is utilized across all channels or signals.
 19. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining that a wideband-based randomsequence or a narrowband-based sequence associated with a received ortransmitted signal is different across different channels or signals.20. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating further comprisestransmitting or receiving a channel quality-related signal in afrequency subband defined within a frequency range boundary of one ofthe UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 21. The method of claim 1,wherein the communicating further comprises transmitting or receiving asignal in a frequency subband, and wherein at least one of a size orlocation of the frequency subband is UE-specific configured.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, wherein at least one of the size or location of thefrequency subband is determined based on a respective bandwidth part ofthe UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 23. The method of claim 20,wherein at least one of the size or location of the frequency subband isassociated with at least one of Channel State Information (CSI) or aSounding Reference Signal (SRS).
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein theUE-specific set of bandwidth parts are determined to be the same fordownlink and uplink.
 25. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE-specificset of bandwidth parts are determined to be a first set for a downlinkoperation, and are determined to be a second set, different than thefirst set, for an uplink operation.
 26. A user equipment (UE) forwireless communications, comprising: a memory storing instructions; atleast one processor in communication with the memory and configured toexecute the instructions to: identify a system bandwidth value of acell; identify a UE bandwidth capability; determine a UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts each having a UE-specific bandwidth based on the systembandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability; and communicate withthe cell using at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.27. A method of wireless communications by a base station, comprising:identifying a system bandwidth value of a cell in which a user equipment(UE) is operating; identifying a UE bandwidth capability for the UE;determining a UE-specific set of bandwidth parts for the UE, each havinga UE-specific bandwidth based on the system bandwidth value and the UEbandwidth capability; and communicating with the UE using at least oneof the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 28. The method of claim 27,wherein each of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts has a samebandwidth, or at least two of the UE-specific set of bandwidth partshave different bandwidths.
 29. The method of claim 27, furthercomprising: transmitting an indication to the UE indicating presence ofat least one of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or a synchronizationsignal in at least one of the UE-specific set of bandwidth parts.
 30. Abase station for wireless communications, comprising: a memory storinginstructions; at least one processor in communication with the memoryand configured to execute the instructions to: identify a systembandwidth value of a cell in which a user equipment (UE) is operating;identify a UE bandwidth capability for the UE; determine a UE-specificset of bandwidth parts for the UE, each having a UE-specific bandwidthbased on the system bandwidth value and the UE bandwidth capability; andcommunicate with the UE using at least one of the UE-specific set ofbandwidth parts.